Are you using
salary increases to your advantage?
Canadian employers are predicting the highest
salary increase in two decades in 2023, fuelled by
a tight labour market, high employment levels and
red-hot inflation. According to a report by Robert Half, more than half of professionals feel underpaid and
34 per cent plan to ask for a raise if they’re offered too little or nothing at all. In Ontario, salary expectations received a further boost when the court struck down Bill 124, which sought to restrain wages in the broader public sector.
Dust off your employment contracts and clarify language
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Salary increases
If you’re an employer with one or more non-unionized employees a raise is the perfect time to:
pledging a commitment to net zero.*
André Royer
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Bill 124: Wage-cap legislation declared unconstitutional
by Ontario Superior Court
Legal implications of the hybrid
work model
Labour and employment law
in Canada
ARoyer@blg.com
T 514.954.3124
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JFantini@blg.com
T 604.640.4247
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Jennifer Fantini
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T 416.367.6513
Partner
James Fu
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But the benefits of a pay increase go beyond simply retaining your top talent.
Going forward, use your annual performance review cycle as a reminder to review your employment contracts. Regular review is a good habit to cultivate, given increasing scrutiny of employment contracts by the courts and continual changes in employment statutes.
Projected
average pay
adjustment
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ARoss@blg.com
T 403.232.9656
Partner
Alan Ross
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JCocker@blg.com
T 416.367.7283
Partner
Jonathan Cocker
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JPariseau@blg.com
T 123.456.7890
Partner
Julie-Anne Pariseau
Show us the money: Net zero financing for Canadian Businesses
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This pledge will have real impacts on business as usual at home. Legislative changes, stricter reporting, penalties and incentives — particularly tax credits — will affect every business, from big banks to the corner store.
As of Oct 2022, Canada has:
Electric transportation, sustainably-powered industry, green infrastructure, smart cities and a circular economy — this is the future if we are to reach net zero by 2050.
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This pledge will have real impacts on business as usual at home. Legislative changes, stricter reporting, penalties and incentives — particularly tax credits — will affect every business, from big banks to the corner store.
When you offer the raise, link it to a requirement for employees to sign appropriately-drafted amendments as a condition of the raise. It will help you manage risk at the same time as providing your employees a pay raise — a case of win-win!
Refresh your terms and conditions
Define your
work-from-home expectations
Review termination provisions and restrictive covenants
Standardize
your employee handbook or policies
4.2
%
Number of
respondents
still undecided
44
%
Have provided
off-cycle
increases
33
%
Source: Eckler’s 2023 Compensation Planning Survey Report
But the benefits of a pay increase go beyond simply retaining your top talent.
Dust off your employment contracts and clarify language
Projected
average pay
adjustment
Have provided
off-cycle
increases
33
%
Number of
respondents
still undecided
4.4
%
Projected
average pay
adjustment
4.2
%
Canadian organizations on salary increases (Aug. 2022)
If you’re an employer with one or more non-unionized employees a raise is the perfect time to: